Our shaft sump pump stopped working one day, but never gave us a clue why. Many months went by and we neglected the failed pump, causing it to live submerged in the drippings from our shaft log. The time has finally come to fix the problem and get the pump working again.
Lovely, isn't it? Hair, sand, and fouling has collected on the surface of the pump, but that didn't lead to its failure. The failure came from that giant bubble on the top of the pump!
The pump apparently overheated, causing the plastic to heat up and melt. The plastic then expanded to the point where it became so thin that it burst and water poured into the electric motor inside, killing it instantly!
Comparing the old pump to the replacement, the issue becomes very apparent. The alarming thing is that the breaker never tripped! We could flip the breaker to turn on the pump, and nothing would happen. The pump didn't run and the breaker didn't trip. I just figured that the unit had died and needed to be replaced, but this was not what I had pictured in my head.
The water that came out of the housing was stained with rust, letting me know that everything inside the pump has died an oxidative death. It was a little concerning that the breaker never tripped even though salt water was poured over all the internal electrical connections, but regardless, the pump has been replaced and the sump can now be emptied once again.
